Government Information Office (GIO) Director-General Chung Chin (
"Our basic aim is to filter out improper influences, both political and commercial, that may stand in the way of the neutrality of news gathering and presenting," Chung told the legislature's Education and Culture Committee.
Of the four existing terrestrial TV stations, three are directly controlled either by the government or a political party. A major portion of the ownership of Taiwan Television Enterprise (TTV,
Reforming the ownership structures of the two government-run TV stations was one of President Chen Shui-bian's (
Under Chen's plan, TTV and CTS would be reorganized to become public corporations, similar to Public Television (
Chung said this proposal is only one of the plans under evaluation by the GIO, and it has not ruled out other possibilities, such as privatization.
"The GIO hopes to make an independent and professional judgment on the issue," Chung said.
The legislators said they support the reform, but argued that the GIO should work out a complete game plan, regardless of which direction it is heading in.
"We absolutely support a proposal to have political influence removed from the stations, but there should a complete plan," said DPP legislator Chen Chin-jun (
Chen warned that in the process of privatization, the GIO should prevent stations from being controlled by a single business consortium, which could lead to the downgrading of program quality because of commercialization.
PFP legislator Lee Ching-an (
"The fact that the GIO has failed in the past to do what it should is the reason we now see sensationalism, violence and sex on TV," Lee said.
Compared with public corporatization, Lee said privatization is a more feasible proposal because it would save the government from investing a lot of money in the project.
In either case, setting up an independent system to handle complaints will be a crucial part of the reforms, Chung said.
"In addition to commercialization, it is also possible for political influence to creep into the content of programs by other means," Chung said.
"The complaint system can offer journalists a channel to speak out if they sense that there is an `invisible hand' at work on their reporting," Ching said.
ROLLER-COASTER RIDE: More than five earthquakes ranging from magnitude 4.4 to 5.5 on the Richter scale shook eastern Taiwan in rapid succession yesterday afternoon Back-to-back weather fronts are forecast to hit Taiwan this week, resulting in rain across the nation in the coming days, the Central Weather Administration said yesterday, as it also warned residents in mountainous regions to be wary of landslides and rockfalls. As the first front approached, sporadic rainfall began in central and northern parts of Taiwan yesterday, the agency said, adding that rain is forecast to intensify in those regions today, while brief showers would also affect other parts of the nation. A second weather system is forecast to arrive on Thursday, bringing additional rain to the whole nation until Sunday, it
CONDITIONAL: The PRC imposes secret requirements that the funding it provides cannot be spent in states with diplomatic relations with Taiwan, Emma Reilly said China has been bribing UN officials to obtain “special benefits” and to block funding from countries that have diplomatic ties with Taiwan, a former UN employee told the British House of Commons on Tuesday. At a House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee hearing into “international relations within the multilateral system,” former Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) employee Emma Reilly said in a written statement that “Beijing paid bribes to the two successive Presidents of the [UN] General Assembly” during the two-year negotiation of the Sustainable Development Goals. Another way China exercises influence within the UN Secretariat is
LANDSLIDES POSSIBLE: The agency advised the public to avoid visiting mountainous regions due to more expected aftershocks and rainfall from a series of weather fronts A series of earthquakes over the past few days were likely aftershocks of the April 3 earthquake in Hualien County, with further aftershocks to be expected for up to a year, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. Based on the nation’s experience after the quake on Sept. 21, 1999, more aftershocks are possible over the next six months to a year, the agency said. A total of 103 earthquakes of magnitude 4 on the local magnitude scale or higher hit Hualien County from 5:08pm on Monday to 10:27am yesterday, with 27 of them exceeding magnitude 5. They included two, of magnitude
Taiwan’s first drag queen to compete on the internationally acclaimed RuPaul’s Drag Race, Nymphia Wind (妮妃雅), was on Friday crowned the “Next Drag Superstar.” Dressed in a sparkling banana dress, Nymphia Wind swept onto the stage for the final, and stole the show. “Taiwan this is for you,” she said right after show host RuPaul announced her as the winner. “To those who feel like they don’t belong, just remember to live fearlessly and to live their truth,” she said on stage. One of the frontrunners for the past 15 episodes, the 28-year-old breezed through to the final after weeks of showcasing her unique